In the fourth of a series of pre-season reports, HarryfromBath looks at how the Millers have fared over the summer after last season’s great escape by delving into their forums. Reports on Huddersfield Town and Nottingham Forest will be on the site later today with the rest of the teams in the division covered between now and the start of the season.
"It seems like last season’s ailments haven’t been cured yet”, "As it stands, we are likely to get turned over by Wolves on the opening day of the season”, "I think we all know that the squad as it stands is not of sufficient quality to survive another season in this league”, "It’s a dog’s dinner.”
Millers are nervous. Having survived the drop into League One last season with a memorable 11-game unbeaten run under Neil Warnock, a lack of signings this summer both in defence and up front has left many believing their squad to be dangerously under-resourced for the coming campaign.
"The Championship is going to be tougher than ever this season and our current squad is woefully inadequate to deal with it”, "Not quite panic yet, but there is concern. We are going into the season with our only available forwards having scored four Championship goals between them last year.”
"Mr Stubbs seems very chilled about our situation. I hope and pray he knows what he is doing. I have a feeling he will try to bail us out with some good loan signings”, "I hope he has a few surprises up his sleeve because the new season is upon us and we haven’t got anything like an adequate squad.”
"When Stubbs was appointed, I thought this could be a master-stroke, but he needs to make things start happening soon or he will appear to be out of his depth.” The 44-year-old took over as boss in June, having taken Hibernian to a first win in the Scottish Cup in over a century the previous month.
"Why do I feel a little underwhelmed?”, "So much for the tried-and-tested Championship manager with experience of this league. It’s another fingers crossed, having to hope choice. Here we go again”, "Alan Stubbs must really believe in himself because on paper this job looks like a big risk.”
No fewer than 13 players were released when their contracts expired at the end of the season. Defenders Frazer Richardson, Lewis Buxton, Danny Collins and Lloyd Doyley, midfielders Paul Green and Emmanuel Ledesma, and strikers Luciano Becchio and Leon Best are currently free agents.
The departing keepers have found new clubs, Alex Collin (Notts County), Alex Cairns (Fleetwood Town) and Paddy Kenny (Northampton Town). Winger Jerome Thomas has joined Port Vale while 30-year-old striker Matt Derbyshire has moved to Cypriot side Omonia Nicosia.
"We need some proper players in”, "Don’t we just! I don’t understand what is going on. Strikers may be hard to come by but full-backs and centre-halves should have been in and settling into the squad for weeks”, "It’s like a ship up the Humber with no pilot to dock it. You end up on the sandbank.”
"Time for the talking to stop and the action to begin”, "We need two big strikers in case anything happens to either of them. Right and centre-backs with pace are needed as well”, "It’s beginning to look as though all the fine talk about signing quality over quantity just might be so much hot air.”
Rotherham has signed former Town keeper Lewis Price from Sheffield Wednesday on a two-year contract and midfield has been strengthened with the arrival of Will Faulks from Falkirk, Anthony Forde from Walsall and Jake Forster-Caskey from Brighton, the 22-year-old - the stepson of ex-Blue Nicky Forster - arriving on a season-long loan.
"Does the club go back to Millwall with a large offer for Lee Gregory or do we go for the return of old favourite Adam Le Fondre from Cardiff?” The lack of a new striker is the biggest concern, with the club and also missing out on Tom Bradshaw who moved this month from Walsall to Barnsley.
"What a farcical pre-season”, "Can anyone honestly say this pre-season isn’t shambolic? Three months on from escaping the drop and we can’t even fulfil a friendly with Grimsby.” United had to cancel a friendly with the Mariners because of injuries picked up on their Polish pre-season tour.
After drawing nil-all with Gornik Zabrze and beating Miedz Legnica 2-1 in Poland, many fans felt that they played well losing 2-1 at home to Sunderland. The mood was far gloomier after an insipid 2-1 loss on Tuesday night away to Scunthorpe. "I was struggling to find any positives.”
"That was probably our strongest line-up near enough.” The starting XI (above) for the defeat at Glanford Park contained the nucleus of the available squad. Two substitutions saw midfielders Vaulks and Forster-Caskey replaced respectively by Richard Smallwood and Darnell Bailey-King.
"We did ok against Sunderland but looked lightweight against Scunthorpe. I understand Stubbs wants the team to play the ball out from the back. This is all good and well, but you need players comfortable with and skilful enough to handle the slow build-up approach.”
"Not being in the bottom six again is a realistic, albeit challenging target”, "We haven’t progressed in the two seasons since promotion and need to do better. We have finished in the bottom six each season and I would like us to be in the next group of six above this in the coming season.”
"There will be a clamour for Stubbs’s head in December when we are rock bottom and it will be totally unjustified. He needs the tools to do the job”, "I think that we and the club both know the score”, "We have had two relegation battles and we are all getting a bit edgy about things.”
Some fans haven’t given up hope yet. "We were down and out until Warnock came and we have got a second chance. This time last year we had signed some right dross”, "Most of us understand that we aren’t big money spenders and look forward to the challenge of staying up for another season.”
There are two busy Millers message boards, Millers Mad and Millers Banter.